


Of Mobsters & Mutants

by Nightpounce



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, NDU, Nightmare Dork University - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gore, Jack Sickle being extremely scary, M/M, Mobster AU, harrassement, mutant!Jack Sickle, stupid and offensive henchmen, who get what they deserve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:25:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2712233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightpounce/pseuds/Nightpounce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A while ago, mira-eyeteeth and I were chatting and she mentioned a piece of dialogue she had running through her head.</p>
<p>“You seem think that I’m a good p-person.” Jack said, and his voice was cold and cracking, giving way like thin ice as he raised his gaze to meet the other’s. Jack’s eyes were flat and still and dead.  “I’m not.”</p>
<p>So I decided to try and write something where that piece of dialogue might make an appearance. Big thanks to Mira for checking this for errors :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Mobsters & Mutants

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miraeyeteeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraeyeteeth/gifts).



> So, Nightmare Dorks University is an au based around the Wangst Comics drawn by ask-pitchs-wardrobe on Tumblr (http://ask-pitchs-wardrobe.tumblr.com/) - you really should go check them out right now (SO GOOD!).
> 
> Mira-eyeteeth helpfully compiled a blog just for this au and the adorable arseholes that make it up (Kozmotis Pitchiner, Piki Black, Pitch Black, Proto and Jack Sickle). You can find the history for this AU here;  
> http://mira-eyeteeth.tumblr.com/NDU
> 
> This is a very loose AU, people tend to pick and choose what they want to be canon and what they don't. Be warned, this AU has a tendency to eat people (it's all mira's fault i got dragged in!!) and it's full of amazingly talented artists and writers. It also includes Proto's pet taxidermied ferret.....which he leaves in various places around the shared apartment, claiming Mr Pickles likes to watch. The others are less than impressed by this behaviour >>
> 
> .........................................
> 
> Mobster/Mutant!au because Mira and I agreed it would be awesome~

Smoke hung heavy in the air, slow to disperse despite the faint breeze from the shattered windows. Wood creaked, plaster crumbling from the damaged walls as the house settled, the explosives not powerful enough to do more than damage the ground floor rooms closest to the blast radius.

The bastards had been precise, seemed he owed Proto an apology when (not if, there was no if) they’d dealt with this. They did have a mole, hard as that was to believe, someone in deep since any staff working this particular location were rigorously screened…guess he’d have to review the screening process as well. Shouldn’t be too bad, at least he’d have something to do over the next few weeks…since he doubted he’d be allowed to move around much.

Koz coughed, bracing himself before pushing up with both hands, hissing through his teeth at the burning pain in his side and thigh. Pulling his undamaged knee – aw fuck that hurt, bruised, it was definitely bruised – under himself, he wrapped one arm around the unconscious body he’d been shielding and rolled to the side. Grunting, careful not to breathe too deeply, he leant back on the singed wall and adjusted Pitch, propping him against his chest. He didn’t want the smaller man to flail and hit anything delicate when he woke; the wooden shard currently embedded in his side was painful enough without Pitch adding to it in a fit of concussed confusion. 

Keeping one arm wrapped carefully around Pitch’s torso, Koz ran his other hand over his companion’s form, checking for damage, eyes flicking up and around the room periodically – had the others survived the blast? Large, gentle fingers carded through dishevelled black hair and came back sticky. Huh, guess that explained why Pitch was unconscious, he must have taken a hit from the debris on the way down when he’d been tackled; he’d told Pitch they had too many useless knickknacks scattered through this room!

“Proto, you guys ok?” He paused to clear his throat, free hand moving to wrap loosely around the wood in his side.

“Hey, Proto! Come on you bastard, answer me!”

“Of course we’re not ok you muscle-bound idiot! The room just exploded!!” Piki’s voice was a little higher than usual, tight with pain and shock.

“Concerned Pitchiner? I’m touched ~” Movement on the other side of the room drew Koz’s eyes to the corner where Proto unfurled from the wall, shifting to crouch beside Piki instead of curling over him. 

Koz snorted. “Like hell! That was a bomb, not holy water so I knew you were fine. Jack and Piki on the other hand…”

Proto pushed Piki back against the wall, prying the smaller man’s fingers loose from around a gash on his upper right arm in order to inspect the damage and ignoring the continued squirming. 

“Jack! Is he ok? Where is he? Jack?!”

Piki gave up on dislodging Proto’s hands, opting to lean sideways, craning his neck to stare wildly around the room. 

“I-I’m fine,” A small form crawled from behind the remains of a large couch, pausing to push ash-stained white hair from his eyes with one shaking hand. “Koz pushed me beh-hind the couch.”

“Course I did, Snowflake, you’re family, yeah?” Wide blue eyes met gold, a soft noise of horror escaping when the younger man spied the wooden splinters, blood slowly staining the material around the wounds.

“S’ok, it’s not as bad as it looks.” Koz watched the way Jack’s breath started to condense, the temperature in the room dropping. 

“Urgh, which probably means it’s worse” Pitch hissed, reaching up to touch his head wound.

“Sleeping Beauty decides to join us! You’re welcome by the way.” Koz grinned, the expression strained.

“For what? You almost crushed me!” Pitch curled his right leg closer, reaching down and pulling the hidden blade free before shoving at the arm around his chest and twisting. “Do you have any idea how much you weigh?!” 

“You’ve never complained befo- HEY! I liked this shirt!” Fabric ripped, Pitch slicing the shirt to pieces with careful, practiced movements.

“It was ruined anyway, now shut-up and press here, you’re leaking.” Pitch positioned the makeshift padding around the splinters, pressing a wad of material against the wound in Koz’s leg, leaving the larger man to staunch the bleeding at his side.

“We should leave.” Proto stood, glancing at the remaining door as he brushed splinters and dust from his lapels. “No doubt our benefactors will be here any minute,” He extended his hand to Piki, pulling the smaller man to his feet before stepping closer, “and we’re not really dressed for company.”

“Actually, I’d say you’re dressed to kill.” 

Jack and Pitch flinched, Koz biting off a curse as his partner jostled the wound in his leg. He missed the muttered apology – whoa, Pitch never apologised…maybe the splinter in his leg was worse than he thought- too busy staring out the ruined wall and across the lawn. A man stepped into view, grinning as he surveyed the damage before hopping over the remains of the wall and into the room, flanked by five armed men. 

The head honcho - average height, kinda weedy, dirty blond hair pulled up in a messy ponytail - gestured at the room’s original occupants, the armed men splitting off into smaller groups and moving to cover them. Koz snorted as a pair took up position before him, automatic weapons trained on both himself and Pitch, as if they expected him to leap up at any minute – he’d have done that already if he could have! Across the room, another pair took up similar positions around Proto and Piki, leaving their remaining member to cover Jack. Seemed they thought the kid was a lesser threat, hah! Morons.

Proto watched the proceedings with interest, gaze lingering on the man covering Jack. “Yes, well, I’ve always found first impressions to be important,” He turned his attention back to the blond in charge, offering a serene smile, hands loose at his sides “They do tend to set the tone of future interactions, hmm? I often find my first impressions of a person can determine what methods I bring to the table during our next round of discussions.”

Blondie smirked “Yeah? Well then, I hope you were impressed with our calling card.”

Piki sniffed, straightening his jacket before tugging a handkerchief from his top pocket to wind around his injured arm.

“Hardly. You missed. Unless your true targets were actually the rose bushes outside the window?”

“Mm,” Proto turned, taking the handkerchief and tying it around Piki’s arm with long, deft fingers. “Leaving a job half-finished can come back to bite you, you know.” 

“Oh, the blast wasn’t meant to kill you,” The blond tugged absently on his ponytail as he spoke, walking a slow circuit of the room and inspecting the damage, patting the two men (Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, average looking thugs, clearly not even half a brain between them) covering Pitch and Koz on the shoulders before making his way over to the man holding Jack at gun point. 

“Injure you a little maybe, disrupt your staff. This wasn’t the only blast by the way,” Blondie continued but Koz tuned him out, narrowing his eyes as he continued to stare at the guy pointing the gun at Jack…he really did look familiar. The guy was probably in his mid-thirties, dark brown hair and pale, hazel eyes…kind of rat like features despite a stockier build. Yeah, wasn’t he part of the administrative staff? One of the guys responsible for ensuring the estate ran smoothly and the stores were up to date or something…Koz thought he remembered introducing the guy to Jack back when they’d first brought the kid in and were getting him settled.

The cocky bastard stopped beside Rat Guy where he stood in front of Jack, looking over his shoulder at Proto. “Nope, sorry to say the boss needs some information from you and well, corpses don’t tell you all that much.” 

“You’d be surprised.” Proto’s smile didn’t really change but Blondie blinked before turning to face him fully again.

“Let’s wrap this up. You’re coming with us and so’s that one,” He nodded at Piki, who glared down his nose at him “Pretty easy to tell he’s your main fuck.” 

The two men holding Proto and Piki at gun point twitched when the smaller man made to step forward but an outstretched arm against his chest stopped Piki short, complaint dying in his throat when he looked up to see Proto’s complete lack of a smile.

“That’s what I thought.” The blond idiot actually looked smug! Koz tried to sit higher against the wall, shifting into a position he could rise from.

“Don’t fucking move!” Tweedle-Dum took a half step forward, pausing when Pitch rose smoothly to stand in front of Koz, arms crossed and clearly unimpressed.

“Oh please, what do you think he’ll do, bleed on you?” 

“He said-” Tweedle-Dee piped up but Pitch cut him off.

“Yes, yes, don’t move, we heard you. We aren’t deaf or stupid. Your titles are perfectly safe I assure you.”

Both guards blinked but Blondie cut them off before either could retort.

“Knock it off you idiots and don’t get distracted! Besides, They’re not the ones the boss wanted to see. You can ice them when we’re done here.” He grinned at the look Pitch shot him, then glanced at Rat Guy, who had yet to take his eyes off Jack. “Speaking of ice, is this the kid? The one with the weird powers?” 

Rat Guy nodded, keeping the gun trained on Jack’s chest as the pale boy stood slowly, keeping one hand braced against the ruined couch for support.

“Doesn’t look like much to me,” the blond tugged on his ponytail again before shrugging “but orders are orders. The boys in the lab are looking forward to meeting you.” He leered at the younger man, giving him an obvious once over. “I’m sure we’ll find a use for you even if you don’t turn out to be anything special,” Piki’s outraged snarl made him chuckle “You’ll probably feel right at home.”

Jack didn’t respond, barely glancing at the man addressing him, before returning his attention to the one holding him at gun point. Didn’t mean the kid wasn’t listening though, Koz wasn’t the only one starting to shiver as the temperature in the room continued to drop.

“Crazy air conditioning in this place…wait, is this him?” Blondie didn’t see Rat Guy’s response, distracted as he was by the ice starting to creep across Jack’s clothing, growing thicker the longer he continued to stare at the man who’d sold them out. “No fucking way!”

“They t-trusted you.” Jack’s voice was soft, thin shoulders hunching as he hugged himself “I-I trusted you.” He dropped his gaze, eyes hidden by his fringe.

“Yeah well, thems the breaks Fre-!” The blond prick was cut off by his cohort, who tightened his grip on the gun. 

“It’s nothing personal Jack. It’s just…part of the job.” Rat Guy was looking nervous.

Ice continued to coat the kid’s form, frosting his hair and curling over his skin. Koz glanced up at the guards, then caught Proto’s gaze – all attention was shifting to the pale youth now covered in a sharp, jagged cloak that scraped and cracked each time he shifted. 

“Not p-personal? You’re th-threatening m-my family.” Blue eyes were still hidden behind a mess of ice-covered hair but the noise of ice on ice as thin arms dropped to hang loose set everyone’s teeth on edge.

Rat Guy licked his lips, stepping closer “Your family? These men aren’t your family. You told me yourself they took you off the street. How long were you here? Six months? You barely know them. They’re bad men Jack, you have no idea.”

Pitch snorted, drawing the attention of the guards again briefly. “Oh yes, very convincing. I’m sure Jack finds treachery, arson and armed assault compelling evidence of your pious nature.”

Jack didn’t look up, standing still and silent as the man with the gun, refusing to acknowledge Pitch’s interruption, continued. 

“You’re sick Jack. You know that right? I read the medical team’s reports. You need help, this isn’t normal! They’re not going to help you here are they? They don’t want to stop this,” He gestured at the ice.

“Yeah, that’s right. No help for you here kid but if you come with us, nice and quiet, I’m sure the lab boys’ll be willing to try and fix you.” Blondie grinned.

“Jack doesn’t need to be fixed, you miscreant!” Piki’s glare could have peeled paint, “He’s perfect as he is.”

“Hah right, perfect if you get off fucking an icebox! Might be nice in summer I suppose.” Koz really, really wanted to kill the blond now. Looked like there might be a line though.

Rat Guy shot his companion a look, clearly not thankful for the interruption, before stepping forward and lowering the gun. “Look, you should never have gotten involved in this business, you don’t belong in it. We’re offering a way out.” He reached out carefully towards the youth’s shoulder with one hand, mindful of the jagged ice. “You come with us, let the people back at the lab look at you and then-”

"You seem to think that I’m a good p-person.” Jack’s voice was cold and cracking, giving way like thin ice as his gaze rose to meet the other’s, blue eyes flat and still and dead.

“I’m not.”

Several things happened at once; 

Jack reached out, catching the outstretched hand before it could be jerked back, twisting the trapped limb just so before driving a solid piece of ice through the heel of the palm, chips of bone visible in the stained ice that broke through the skin of the screaming man’s elbow.

Blondie jerked in shock, swearing violently as he tried to retreat but thick ice spilt from under Jack’s feet, coating the floor and feet of the attackers and shackling them in place. Koz watched from his place on the nice, non-frozen carpet – Jack’s training really had been paying off - as the ice thickened, climbing higher along their legs the more the men struggled. 

Sharp cracks rang through the air, punctuated by screams of pain and shock as every gun in sight exploded. Huh, looked like ice must have been forming inside the weapons, expanding in a sudden, vicious burst of Jack’s will, the resulting shrapnel shredding the hands of the men holding them. Koz made a mental note never to piss the kid off.

The pale boy’s expression didn’t change, watching his carefully controlled chaos unfold, eyes locked on the gunmen now unable to do more than writhe, held in place as they were by the ice which now rose to their hips. 

“Jack!” Piki’s voice cut across the room, the slim man hovering at the end of the unfrozen carpet surrounding him. 

Blue eyes blinked, Jack’s gaze shifting to rove over each member of his family, reassessing the damage before lifting to settle on Proto.

“Jack, lovely work. Who would have guessed you had such a flair for the dramatic?” The tall man smiled, stepping past Piki as the ice surrounding them started to melt. 

Paths formed across the floor; one towards Pitch and Koz – Piki stepped over to the pair, helping Pitch support Koz as the larger man struggled to rise – Proto strolling along the other, moving towards the ringleaders - Blondie and Rat Guy still stuck fast, the latter cradling his ruined arm.

“I’m looking forward to speaking with each of you at length.” Proto paused, gazing down at the clearly terrified men. “I’m sure you’ll have lots of interesting things to share. Sadly, I doubt your cohorts will be as entertaining.”

Everyone but Jack looked up as the four former gunmen gagged, strangled gasps and half-formed words petering out as each shuddered, then stilled, slumping awkwardly in the ice still creeping up their bodies.

Proto stared at the now dead men, clearly curious as Jack stepped up beside him, soundless on the slick ice. Outside, faint shouts could be heard - the security stationed at the estate was finally on its way, converging on the ruined office now that the other threats were neutralised.

“Seems blood doesn’t circulate properly when the water inside it is frozen.” The usual stutter was gone, the soft voice calm, tone satisfied as the young man watched the men before them cringe.

“That is unfortunate, although not unexpected.” Proto reached out, mindful of the ice shards, to gently squeeze the nape of Jack’s neck with one large hand. Smiling down at startled blue eyes, he nodded back towards the others. “Why don’t you help Piki and Pitch take Pitchiner to the infirmary? I’ll wait here and follow along once I’m sure our guests are secure.”

Jack looked uncertain for the first time since he’d gone on the offensive, clearly not liking the thought of the group splitting up. 

“I’ll be fine Jack, don’t you trust me?” He gave Jack’s neck one more squeeze of reassurance when the waif shook his head.

“N-no, I d-do!” Ah, seemed Jack was back to normal. Koz shook his head, having watched the conversation from across the room – Proto really was a sneaky bastard. 

“Good boy. Off you go, I’ll be along in a few minutes.” Proto watched as Jack hurried across the room, ice all but gone from his form by the time Piki reached out to grasp his shoulder with one frantic hand – the one not currently wrapped around one side of Koz’s waist, struggling to support him. 

Jack smiled up at Koz when the larger man ruffled his hair, nodding as Pitch instructed him to get the door. The four of them moved slowly through the debris and still frozen corpses, Proto waiting until they were gone before turning back to his captive audience.

“Oh yes, we’re going to have some fun.”


End file.
